General Nintendo sales/business discussion topic (previously: The Wii U Thread)

[Solkia]

I'm going to be blunt: Nintendo could never run a proper MMO with the way they handle Online features. Your game account would be tied to your system, there would be server crashes, there would be no form of voice communication (not a necessity, but still very nice), there would be lag up the ass.

 

It would be a fucking mess.

[VO.SUPER]

I'm going to be blunt: Nintendo could never run a proper MMO with the way they handle Online features. Your game account would be tied to your system, there would be server crashes, there would be no form of voice communication (not a necessity, but still very nice), there would be lag up the ass.

It would be a fucking mess.

I think Nintendo just made a general Nintendo network account system, so you are late in that regard.

Server crashes and lag happens in all MMOs.

[Your Vest Friend]

Nope, the accounts are still attached to one console. 

[Dejimon11]

That patcher statement is as dumb as what IGN suggesting that Nintendo should drop the Wii u since the PS4 and XB1 were about to come out to make their next system as powerful as their since not that many people bought a Wii u

[azoo]

Well of course they pretty much had it coming, they made a console last gen that was far behind the other two competitors and barely had anything but nice-but-maybe-too-gimmicky first party titles and shovelware up the butt. And then they named their new console after it, which not only made people believe it was more of the same, but that it was just as underwhelming as the last one; meaning that while parents and other people not of the gaming generation don't see the need for a new Wii, and "hardcore" gamers don't see the need to get one because of assumptions related to last gen's performance.

 

They put themselves into their own corner, and I'm almost 100% sure the reason they're there is because of what they named the console + Nintendo's lack of want for getting with the standards. But somehow it seems like just because they're pretty successful in Japan they're just going to sit there and wonder what went wrong in western countries, whenever all they had to do was begin new practices (something Japan in general seems to be afraid of).

 

I'm still hoping for lots of great games, and I'm ready to be convinced they'll dominate in some kind of way. And the answer definitely isn't dropping out of the console race, making mobile phones, or anything like that. Those are all dumb answers compared to a simpler one: show some competence.

 

I just don't want another Wii.

[Kaabiitorori]

Pachter - Nintendo should drop Wii U, put games on XB1/PS4 while they create a new console

So his brilliant idea is to release Wii U games on a platform that Nintendo probably has no experience developing (therefore forcing their development teams to learn the Xbox One / PS4 architectures), without any clear outlook on how they will success on these consoles, while giving the middle finger to the current ~5.5 million install base and potential consumers alongside third-party developers working on Wii U titles. And by the time a new console is released, people who trusted on Nintendo's systems may not return back after how they abandoned the Wii U, tarnished their IPs and Nintendo's reputation.

Cannot believe this puppet of the video gaming industry had to seriously come up with a statement akin to a Sony / Microsoft fanboy. How much money did your fellow companies give you to talk crap to their major competitor?

As for the news of Nintendo slashing their forecasts... I thought they were way off scale since the moment they were revealed last year, and it seems they had to adapt them into what they really have sold. As I said in previous pages, 2014 is the year where Nintendo must turn the Wii U around, and the forecast slash surely must have put them in a pickle. That will serve them as a kick in the arse to realise they have got a hell of a lot of work to do; sales have risen on the last quarter of 2013, it's a good sign since they can indeed lift the console up by themselves, but they need to keep going on their game releases and their marketing if they wanna bring the Wii U to profitable terms.

I'm interested to see what Iwata has got in mind regarding Nintendo's future years though. His statements can be understood in many ways (unfortunately many people had to twist 'em into Nintendoom cries, again!), but hopefully they should be translated as taking steps into evolving their business for the best. What route they will take is unknown, but coming from a man who turned the DS, Wii and 3DS into big success and brought Nintendo back to relevance into the average consumer market, I gotta give some trust to what Iwata can do next.

[Autosaver]

Wonderful 101 is still on sale for $23.99 at BestBuy. If you haven't bought the game, grab it now!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[VO.SUPER]

Still, Mr. Iwata noted that Nintendo's sales in Japan were better than they were in the U.S. and Europe, and said the company needed a better way of keeping in touch with trends abroad.

"In Japan, I can be my own antenna, but abroad, that doesn't work," he said.

In a snap news conference called in Osaka, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata admitted he had misread the markets and hadn't issued "the appropriate instructions.'' He said the company needed to change and "propose something that surprises our customers."

"The way people use their time, their lifestyles, who they are—have changed," Mr. Iwata said. "If we stay in one place, we will become outdated."

http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303465004579325760899958956?mobile=y

[Sami]

About fucking time someone said it. I'm interested in what their next console is going to be.

[Your Vest Friend]

I thought Reggie would have been responsible for 'being the antenna', at least in NA.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

About fucking time someone said it. I'm interested in what their next console is going to be.

that wont be for a while, I am more curious about how this realization is going to effect their marketing and R&D strategies

[Sami]

that wont be for a while, I am more curious about how this realization is going to effect their marketing and R&D strategies

 

Too late for that, honestly. They can try to spin the hardware all they want, but the chances of it picking up at this point are slim to none. 

 

They should just cut their losses, ride it out, and focus on R&D next time. Oh, and also - 

 

He said the company needed to change and "propose something that surprises our customers."

 

If this is yet another stupid gimmick nobody asked for so help me god

[VO.SUPER]

I thought Reggie would have been responsible for 'being the antenna', at least in NA.

Reggie is spineless.

[8ther]

Cannot believe this puppet of the video gaming industry had to seriously come up with a statement akin to a Sony / Microsoft fanboy.

 

 

You do know this is Pachter right? he always says shit like this, no one takes him seriously hell sites like IGN quote him just to start flame wars in the comment section.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Too late for that, honestly. They can try to spin the hardware all they want, but the chances of it picking up at this point are slim to none. 

 

They should just cut their losses, ride it out, and focus on R&D next time. Oh, and also - 

 

I dont think so, the other consoles still have an extremely weak game library, and nintendo still has 8 months untill the other two get enough of a library for that to be a threat, so if they can build up the momentum with solid release with major advertising one after another this isnt over yet

[RK64]

Maybe Nintendo could drop the GamePad and steeply discount the console (150-200$) around the time Mario Kart and Smash Brothers come out? That would be a great way to boost some sales, as two of the bigger Wii U games will be out and people can pick them up with the Wii U being the around/the same price as the Wii originally was. I know many would say that removing the GamePad would be a bad move, but considering how bad the Wii U is selling, maybe selling the console as a traditional Nintendo box rather than another gimmick-type thing would give them a better image ...

[Milo]

About fucking time someone said it. I'm interested in what their next console is going to be.

 

Acknowledging that they were/are out of touch and royally screwed up is one thing, whether they will learn from their mistakes and make sure it doesn't happen again from that point forward is another thing.

[Kaabiitorori]

You do know this is Pachter right? he always says shit like this, no one takes him seriously hell sites like IGN quote him just to start flame wars in the comment section.

I know who is Patcher, of course. Thought I was clear about how irrelevant his statements are (including the quoted one) when I said he's a puppet of the video gaming industry.

[VO.SUPER]

Maybe Nintendo could drop the GamePad and steeply discount the console (150-200$) around the time Mario Kart and Smash Brothers come out? That would be a great way to boost some sales, as two of the bigger Wii U games will be out and people can pick them up with the Wii U being the around/the same price as the Wii originally was. I know many would say that removing the GamePad would be a bad move, but considering how bad the Wii U is selling, maybe selling the console as a traditional Nintendo box rather than another gimmick-type thing would give them a better image ...

200 would be too far. You can't lower the price of a console too far this early in its life or else people think it's a cheap waste of money. That's how the market usually works.

[Marcello]

I think Nintendo's next console should come around late 2016 or 2017 the latest and it should be a significant jump from the PS4/XONE so it can compete/easily get games with PS5/Xbox 4, even if it's not quite as powerful similar to the PS2. Nintendo also needs to start courting bigger third party studios. they seem to be doing a good job with Independant developers, but bigger developers are also needed. They definitely need to do something about the whole EA fiasco.

 

Then there's the whole western market, which has taken over the console market. Nintendo for some reason still tends to ignore it for some reason.  They need to start grooming more western studios to work for their consoles, they've had some great success with Retro and Next Level Games. so I'm baffled at why they seem so reluctant to expanding on that.

 

I think they definitely need to start implementing stuff like Achievements, account systems and other standard features of the other consoles. People want those things.

 

Also, get a bit more diverse with you games. 2013 skewed mostly to the younger demographic. 2014 looks much better for that, though.

 

That's it for my confusing, disjointed, unfinished thoughts.

 

Edit: That discussion changed fast :V

[azoo]

Are we really doing the "it's too late for the Wii U" thing again?

 

No, it's not too late. We just flipping started this gen proper. It shouldn't be a big stretch to update the console firmware to have better functionality; 360 and PS3 did that continuously throughout their entire life cycle(s). Past that, all they gotta do is work on their strategies, reset their internet services and the like, pick up their business practices, and start giving people the games and support they've been asking for.

 

That's it. No need to drop the Wii U as if it's doomed and dead and a travesty with no sign of survival. That's bullshit. It's a great console that can be made better, and probably will be made better. If we really needed a new console right now just because graphics weren't capable enough, then Sony would've also made a PS2.5, but whaddayaknow, they didn't. 

 

That is, if Iwata sticks to the words he just uttered. Which I surely hope he does, because it seems that he finally gets it.

[VO.SUPER]

Dropping the console during the beginning of its lifespan is madness. The big problem with most Nintendo consoles since the N64 is that the excitement dies at the end of the console lifespan, and they're unsalvageable at that point. To see how that would work against Nintendo in this trying time would be inviting doom.

[Solkia]

Are we really doing the "it's too late for the Wii U" thing again?

 

No, it's not too late. We just flipping started this gen proper. It shouldn't be a big stretch to update the console firmware to have better functionality; 360 and PS3 did that continuously throughout their entire life cycle(s). Past that, all they gotta do is work on their strategies, reset their internet services and the like, pick up their business practices, and start giving people the games and support they've been asking for.

 

That's it. No need to drop the Wii U as if it's doomed and dead and a travesty with no sign of survival. That's bullshit. It's a great console that can be made better, and probably will be made better. If we really needed a new console right now just because graphics weren't capable enough, then Sony would've also made a PS2.5, but whaddayaknow, they didn't. 

 

That is, if Iwata sticks to the words he just uttered. Which I surely hope he does, because it seems that he finally gets it.

 

Considering the competition dwarfed the sales the Wii U had from one year in a single week, 3rd partys are doing fuckall with the system, and stores are actively ridding shelve space of them in some places, and the fact that a Nintendo console doing poorly is hardly anything new, I'm not sure why it's too farfetched to come to this conclusion.

 

Hell, I spent a while deceiving myself that the Vita could make a comeback, and then ended up actually forgetting that I own one.

[DarkRula]

All I am saying on this is that Nintendo need to work on those games from their older IP's that people are asking for.

And in the first Direct of this year, they really need to assure people that they won't give up on the WiiU no matter what. And also give people a reason to buy one. [in other words, better third party support / a proper accounting system on par to PSN/XBL]

[azoo]

Considering the competition dwarfed the sales the Wii U had from one year in a single week, 3rd partys are doing fuckall with the system, and stores are actively ridding shelve space of them in some places, and the fact that a Nintendo console doing poorly is hardly anything new, I'm not sure why it's too farfetched to come to this conclusion.

 

Hell, I spent a while deceiving myself that the Vita could make a comeback, and then ended up actually forgetting that I own one.

 

Then what's the solution? Do you think putting themselves in an even bigger financial risk by starting work on a brand new console is going to work? Production for building those is going to be ridiculous when put together with the losses they've had with the Wii U sales. Not to mention how the userbase of the Wii U would be pretty much abandoned, and to who-knows-what result (and if that point is counteracted with "lol what wii u userbase" then I swear on all potatoes).

 

Unless they plan on allowing REALLY cheap trade-ins and make the console still based on a gamepad set up, that would be cutting off not just the userbase from before but also the entire library they made in the first half of this generation. It'd be a waste.